


The Sprain

by GoodOldBaz



Category: Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV), Poirot - Agatha Christie, Poirot - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Old Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 17:53:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18429116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodOldBaz/pseuds/GoodOldBaz
Summary: Felicity’s sprained ankle turns out to bring up a lot more emotions than Japp ever realized it could.





	The Sprain

**Author's Note:**

> This is post everything that happens in the books/movies pretty much. I know Japp is married to Emily, but for a while I had a HC that she passed a while before him. For a little while I even headcanoned that he briefly lived with Poirot after that lol  
> I don't know if any of y'all have seen that bts photo of Hastings punting and Japp and Miss Lemon are sitting together in the boat, wellllll... that sparked some thoughts in my head lol cause I'm a hopeless romantic when it comes to other people  
> At this point Emily has long since passed and a lot of stuff has happened between Japp and Miss Lemon, and they have an established relationship and are actually married. I hope to put up other stories of them at some point.

He nudged her playfully. “What do you say?”  
She arched her eyes dangerously. “We would never live it down among the neighbors!”  
He grinned and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Who cares?”  
“I do!” she said, turning around in his embrace to face him. “You may have just moved here, but I have lived with these neighbors for years. I would prefer they don’t think too terribly of me. I’ve just now convinced them we’re actually married. They prefer to think we’re living unmarried and having some sort scandalous affair. Imagine! At our age. It’s more entertaining apparently.”  
He bent down and began to give her scratchy little kisses along her neck. “Oh I find this entertaining enough,” he hummed.  
She giggled under his kisses and straying hands, wrapping an arm around his neck and running her fingers through his graying hair.  
She sighed. “I always wanted a man whose hair I could run my fingers through. And you’ve certainly got enough.” She playfully patted his chest with her free hand and he went a little red. But his embarrassment didn’t stop him from leaning down and giving her a kiss.  
At last they pulled apart. He made a little pouty face, but she help up a warning finger.  
“Now James,” she said with a half a smile. “I’ve got to get the gardening done. And you’ve got to fix the car.”  
She slipped on a wide brimmed hat, an apron, and her boots and gloves, and went outside. James Japp rolled up his sleeves and made his way to the front of the house where the car was parked. He saw an elderly neighbor staring as he came out of the houses. He smiled a little, remembering what his wife had told him. As what he considered a man of the world, he found it all considerably more amusing than she did. He hummed a little tune as he pulled up the hood and looked inside. It was just over half an hour when he finally finished. He closed the hood, opened the door, and crawled inside. To his relief, the car started without any trouble. He turned it off and got back out, eager to go around the back of the house to tell his wife about his accomplishment. He’d never been particularly good with cars but he was quite proud of the progress he’d been making recently. He whistled a little as he walked around the side of the house and into the back yard where his wife was working in the garden. As he rounded the corner he looked up, his eyes scanning the lush vegetation which was confined in a few raised beds by the fence. He furrowed his brows as he saw his wife sitting here, not on her knees as she usually gardened, but leaning back with one foot pulled up a little. He couldn’t imagine what she was doing. As he got closer she turned to him and gave a sigh of relief.  
“Oh good,” she breathed. “I was afraid I was going to have to start shouting.”  
He felt an odd sensation of panic overcome her as he saw the way she was holding onto her ankle.  
“What happened?” he asked quickly.  
“I’ve sprained my ankle,” she said matter-of-factly. “I stepped on a rock and rolled it. I heard a pop or two but I believe it’s alright.”  
Japp felt fairly sick to his stomach. He knelt down by her and reached out his hands to her ankle.  
“Is it alright?” he inquired breathlessly.  
“Ouch!” she cried out a little. “Watch where you put your fingers!”  
He pulled back quickly. “I’m sorry!” he stammered. “I’m sorry.”  
“It’s alright,” she said gently, wiping a little smudge of grease off his cheek. “Give me your arm and I’ll go inside and ice it.”  
He leaned back and looked at her with wide eyes. “We have to get you to the hospital!” he said.  
She looked at him with furrowed brows. It was just a sprain, she thought to herself, why was he so worried? “I don’t need a hospital,” she said.  
“But it might be broken.”  
She patted his hand. “But I’m almost positive it’s not. I just need to elevate it a bit and put some ice on it.”  
He shook his head. “No, I’m taking you to the hospital.”  
“James,” she began, but he held up his hand.  
“No arguing. The car’s fixed. Now let me pick you up!” He quickly wrapped his arms around her.  
“James!” This time she cried out. “Your back!”  
“It’s fine,” he said, lifting her form the ground. Although he never would have admitted it, he felt a sharp pain go through his lower back.  
“James Japp,” she said sternly. “You put me down this instant! You’ll hurt yourself!”  
But he paid no mind to her. In a moment he had her in the car.  
On the following car ride she sat quietly, her arms folded, secretly amused by what on earth the neighbors must be thinking of the two of them. But she showed no amusement on her face. Her pale face was flushed and her eyebrows arched. Her husband kept sending worried glances at her, but she merely scowled. Once at the hospital the doctor confirmed the lady’s suspicions, and pronounced that she had a bad sprain, and would have to stay off her feet for a few weeks. The very thought of it make her skin crawl. She was not the kind of person who liked to stay in one place for very long. Through the entire visit, the doctor payed much more attention to her husband, who looked rather pale and shaky, and proscribed, for both of them, an early night.  
On the car ride home Japp kept expressing how thankful he was that she was alright. When they reached home he ignored her protests a second time, and carried her to their bedroom.  
“Lay here a bit,” he said gently, propping up her ankle on a pillow. “I’ll be right back.”  
He moved to leave, but she stopped him with a hand on his.  
“Don’t leave,” she smiled.  
He hesitated, and then crawled onto the bed beside her, being sure to slip off his shoes before doing so. He had fallen strangely quiet and just laid there, staring at her, their fingers intertwined. Felicity looked over his gentle face, stroking it with the tips of her fingers. His lips smiled, but his eyes did not.  
“Move a little closer,” she breathed.  
He did so, gently wrapping his arms around her. Her hands cupped his face and pulled it close to hers. She touched her lips to his.  
“What’s wrong?” she said quietly.  
He looked a little startled. “Nothing.”  
She shook her head. “I know something is. You’ve had this wide-eyed look of panic ever since I fell. And now you just look sad.”  
His eyes fell and he absently ran his hand over her stomach. Her muscles tightened a little and she stifled a laugh.  
“Sorry,” he said with a half smile.  
She touched his face again, lifting his chin so that he looked her in the eyes. “Come on now, what is it?”  
He swallowed. “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved,” he said slowly, “And seeing you sitting there, helpless, even if it was just a sprain, made me realize for the first time that it was possible for me to lose you too. I don’t think I could take that.”  
She had never seen her husband so close to crying before. She gently took his head in her hands and lay him down to rest with his cheek against her chest. He could hear the comforting beat of her heart in his ear. A faint smile played around his lips.  
“It’s silly,” he said after a moment.  
“No,” she said, stroking his hair. “It’s not silly at all.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I can’t say I’m going to be here forever,” she said slowly. “But I’ll be here as long as I can, and I think that will be just the right amount of time.”  
He smiled, nuzzling closer to her.  
“Now, now,” she grinned, “The doctor told us to rest.”


End file.
